AIB manager tells of two visits to Ahern's office

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern lodged more than £72,000, mostly in cash, to AIB between December 1993 and August 1994, the Mahon tribunal was told yesterday.

Philip Murphy, then assistant bank manager at AIB O'Connell Street, outlined two visits he made to Mr Ahern's office in Drumcondra in 1994.

The first visit to St Luke's, at 161 Drumcondra Road Upper, happened in April 1994.

Mr Murphy said it was then that Mr Ahern disclosed that he had money in his safe. Asked by tribunal counsel Henry Murphy SC, how he reacted when he was told, Mr Murphy said he "used language that would equate to saying you're a bit stupid to keep money in a safe".

He said he suggested to Mr Ahern that he use the £30,000, to top up his special savings account (SSA), which could take up to £50,000, and was opened in December 1993 with a deposit of £22,500.

He described how Mr Ahern took the cash from a safe directly behind him and handed it to him. He thought he counted it before bringing it back to the bank, he said.

"Did you make any inquiry as to how it got to be in the safe?" counsel asked.

"I have a vague recollection of him saying that it was savings," Mr Murphy replied.

He said during the conversation Mr Ahern said he had other money in another safe in Government Buildings.

He said he took Mr Ahern's SSA book back with him to the bank, filled in the details to top up the SSA to £50,000 and put the balance, of £2,835.56, into a current account. The SSA account was closed in December 1994, the tribunal heard, after two withdrawals were made from it, of £22,000 and £28,000.

On his second visit to St Luke's in August 1994, Mr Murphy said he was given £20,000 in cash to open an account for Mr Ahern's daughters, Celia and Georgina.

Mr Murphy said he could not remember if the cash was taken from a drawer or was on the desk. nor could he remember if it was bundled or in a bag or envelope.